Technology | Media | Telecommunications

Thursday, July 22, 2010

The latest market study by In-Stat identifies that the largest number of mobile TV subscribers and viewers will come from digital broadcast applications. This will be followed in numbers by analog broadcast viewers.

However, while cellular mobile TV subscribers will be lower, they could generate the majority of potential new service revenue, with over $15 billion in subscription revenue by 2014.

"Global 3G network development is driven by the popularity of data services such as social networking and texting," says Norm Bogen In-Stat analyst. "Mobile TV stands to leverage this demand."

To date, the market development of mobile TV has not kept pace with the prior analyst forecasts. The question remains, with the exception of brief news, weather and sports updates -- do mobile service subscribers need or want mobile television offerings?

Moreover, if most program offerings continue to mimic traditional TV formats and fail to adapt to the unique needs of mobile subscribers, then will the global market ever reach its full potential?